Chapter 6 - The Woman in Room 314
Aaron did not take Anna home.
He had her admitted to St. Catherine’s Behavioral Center under an emergency psychiatric hold.
Dr. Kessler signed the authorization.
The room had no telephone, no sharp objects and no door handle on the inside.
Aaron visited that evening.
He brought flowers and the silver cup.
Anna sat on the bed with her hands folded.
“You planned all of this,” she said.
“I’m trying to keep you safe.”
“You married me because your mother told you to.”
“That isn’t true.”
“I read the file.”
His eyes flickered.
“What file?”
“AV-05.”
Aaron placed the flowers down.
“You broke into her office.”
“You knew she had been watching me since I was a child.”
“I knew she researched you.”
“She researched targets.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
Aaron glanced at the camera in the corner.
He lowered his voice.
“My brother Julian died when he was six.”
“You said he died before you were born.”
“My mother told people that because his death was complicated.”
“What happened?”
“He was sick. Very sick. She believed his condition could be reversed.”
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who gave birth to him?”
Aaron stared at her.
“My mother.”
“Kessler said she was never pregnant.”
“You misheard.”
“I didn’t.”
His breathing quickened.
“You need to stop asking questions.”
“They’re going to take my baby.”
“No one is taking him.”
“You already call the baby him.”
Aaron looked toward her stomach.
“If the child is healthy, everything changes.”
“For whom?”
“For all of us.”
Anna stood.
“What happens to me after I give birth?”
Aaron’s silence answered her.
She stepped back.
He reached for her.
Anna screamed.
A nurse entered.
“He tried to hurt me!”
Aaron raised his hands.
“I didn’t touch her.”
“Leave,” the nurse ordered.
“She’s my wife.”
“And she has asked you to leave.”
His expression darkened.
“You don’t know what you’re interfering with.”
“I know hospital policy.”
After Aaron was escorted out, the nurse examined Anna’s chart.
“My name is Lena,” she said quietly. “Do you recognize the doctor who authorized your hold?”
“Kessler.”
“He isn’t employed here.”
“Then why did you accept the order?”
“The signature came through the county emergency system.”
Anna showed Lena the appointment card and explained everything she could without sounding frantic.
The silver cups.
The photographs.
The chemical mixture.
Her mother’s note.
Lena listened without interrupting.
“Can you contact Dr. Reed?”
“I can try.”
“Please don’t call from this floor.”
Lena nodded.
Before leaving, she whispered, “There is another woman here who talks about silver cups.”
Anna looked up.
“What woman?”
“Room 314.”
After midnight, Lena returned and unlocked Anna’s door.
“You have five minutes.”
They crossed an empty corridor to room 314.
Inside, an elderly woman sat facing the wall.
Her white hair had been cut unevenly. Faded scars ran along both arms.
“Camille?” Lena said.
The woman did not move.
Anna remembered the names engraved on the cups.
“Camille, my name is Anna Vale.”
The woman’s shoulders stiffened.
“My mother was Rebecca.”
Camille turned.
Her eyes were clear despite the emptiness of her expression.
“Rebecca had a daughter.”
“I’m her.”
Camille stood so quickly that Lena stepped back.
“Did Sylvia find you?”
“Yes.”
“Are you pregnant?”
Anna nodded.
Camille grabbed her shoulders.
“You cannot let them hear the heartbeat.”
“Why?”
“Because that is how they choose.”
“Choose what?”
Camille pressed a finger against Anna’s lips.
Then she pointed toward the air vent.
A tiny red light blinked behind the metal grille.
They were being recorded.
Lena reached for the door.
It would not open.
Footsteps approached outside.
Camille shoved Anna toward the bathroom.
“Hide.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve been waiting twenty-two years.”
The door opened.
Dr. Kessler entered with two orderlies.
Camille smiled at him.
“Malcolm,” she said. “You finally came back.”
Kessler stared past her.
“Where is Anna?”
Camille laughed.
Then she opened her hospital gown.
Strapped to her chest was a bundle of medical files.
The top page showed a photograph of Sylvia holding a newborn.
On the back, someone had written:
May you like
Julian Vale.
Birth mother: Camille Arden.
